The Defender of Mankind
by Barefoot XO
Summary: River remembers the academy... and the Defender of Mankind.


I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Firefly. They belong to Joss Whedon.

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Defender of Mankind<em>**

* * *

><p>The crew of Serenity has learned much of me over these years that I have sailed with them. They know the secrets that were not mine to carry, secrets like Miranda. They know of the secrets that are truly mine, things like the men with the hands of blue, the terrible way my mind was violated, the assassin programming that is lodged within me.<p>

They know nothing about the other like me. The one that could not be controlled. The One Who Sees Everything. I met the One Who Sees at the academy. He was always alone. I think I am the only one who talked to him. People feared he was a spy. They were fools. He would no more spy on his fellow humans then he would give in to the gravitas of the Blue Sun.

The One Who Sees was different from me. I read minds and perhaps possible futures to an extent. The One Who Sees had the power to look past deception in all its forms, to look beneath the appearances and pick out the inner truth of the matter. He was a far greater man then the Blue Sun could ever hope to be. But then again, that says little. The Blue Sun, powerful though he is, is less than a man. A pale imitation. A mockery of God's wondrous work. Nothing like the One Who Sees. The One Who Sees, you see, was Alexander… the Defender of Mankind.

Alexander. It was the name of a great general long ago, a youth of Earth-That-Was who was famous for his rule of much of the known world. But after that Alexander, there was another. This Alexander came with no fanfare or great armies. He was not considered a great leader of men, nor a great warrior himself. No. Alexander was the quintessential mortal man, striving to make the world a better place. More the power to him.

Blue Sun captured Alexander many years before I came to the school. I know not how Alexander lived so long, nor how he retained his relatively youthful appearance from the days of yore on Earth-That-Was. In the end, it is irrelevant. The how, when, what, where and who are passing fancies. All that matters is the why. He came to be in the Academy because he knew that I would be there. He told me so. He was there for me.

For three long years they tried to bend us to their will. It matters little now, because they did not succeed. Alexander was not a man who could be conquered. They worked him more than any other and got little out of him that was useful. He spat in their faces. The fools. He was the defender of mankind. How dare they think that he would ever aid those who would desecrate their own brothers and sisters?

As for me, their success was limited. My manias, that I exhibited, prevented them from using my talents to their fullest potential. They never understood why they could not control it with science as they did all else. Alexander told me why. The body can be imprisoned, desecrated and altered forever. The mind can have the same occur to an extent. Not so with the soul. The soul is free, no matter their terrible games. And so my soul fought in the only ways it could to help my mind stay free. Insanity, you may find, is a remarkably freeing concept…

I will never forget the night before my brother came for me, to free from that place of fear and hatred. Alexander took me aside and he kissed my forehead, telling me to always live for him. It scared me, but I made the promise. I was too unclear at the time to understand why he was saying that.

The next day Alexander was dead. No one is sure how he died. It did not appear to be suicide, or natural, nor even homicide. It looked like he had just lain down and let himself die. So much like the people of Miranda and yet so different. He died because his purpose was done. They died because of a corrupt government.

Alexander is dead because he had done what he set out to do. I know not how he lived so long, but I do know why. He was living for me. Living so that my mind would stay free. Now I live for him. I live so that he can live on through me. He is not my father, but I think perhaps he was more a father to me then Gabriel Tam ever was.

When I walk down the aisle tomorrow, I will have no father of the bride to accompany me. Simon offered, but I refused. He was hurt and could not understand. It is unfortunate, but unavoidable. He cannot understand that Alexander is standing beside me, ready to give me away to my husband. He is here for me now as he was then, even if it is merely a ghostly echo of him within my mind. It will do.

I will always keep him with me. He was the Defender of Mankind. Now, it has fallen to me. And perhaps it will fall to my own child one day. The slayer line is dead. The vampires with a soul have gone to rest. There are no more champions left. There is only the Defender of Mankind, and it is enough…

* * *

><p>I'm back again. I know. I've been out a while.<p>

Who is River's husband? Could be Jayne... Could be Mal... Could be anyone else. It's not germane to the story, so feel free to insert whoever you wish.

Jasper


End file.
